- Joined
- Sep 22, 2013
- Messages
- 60
Hi I have 2 leopard tortoises aged 5 and 6 just wanted some advice on how to get them off veggies on to grass weeds and hay . thanks in advance for any help
Tom said:If we wet the hay will they eat it mixed in with their food ? I think mine did when I did that.
Slowly and little by little. Here is what I mean: Tortoises are creatures of habit. They don't necessarily recognize new and novel foods as food. Start by getting some of their favorite food and mince it up super fine. Then mince up a super small amount of the new food. Less then 5% by volume for the new food. Mix it all together and put it in their food bowl. They may smell the new stuff and decide they can wait until tomorrow to eat when their food doesn't smell so funny. Keep doing the same ratio and same mix until they begin to eat it with their usual gusto, and then gradually up the ratio of new to old. Once you have gone through this process a few times, and they start to get used to a wider variety of foods, it usually goes quicker with each new food. You must be patient and realize they will not starve to death even if they eat nothing for two weeks.
I would skip the hay. Few leopards will just walk up and start eating dry hay. That is more of an adult sulcata kind of thing.